Quinn Merrick - Science Fair Research Paper
Quinn Merrick - Science Fair Research Paper
Quinn Merrick
Mrs. Stevens
Life Science
31 January 2018
How Does the Amount Of Air In a Volleyball Affect the Distance Of Your Serve?
Did you know that volleyball is played by more than 800 million people a week? If you
are one of those 800 million people, wouldn’t you want to know the best air pressure to keep
volleyballs at? This paper will give you the answers to make your serve go the furthest based on
the amount of air pressure. This project tests volleyballs with different air pressures to discover
which air pressure gets you the greatest distance when playing volleyball. There is a lot of
science behind this sport, and you can find out about it in my paper. I hypothesized that, If I have
ten people serve volleyballs with low, medium, and high air pressure and measure the distance
that the balls go, then the ball with the greatest air pressure will go the farthest.
How Does the Amount Of Air in a Volleyball Affect the Distance Of Your Serve?
The main thing a player should focus on if they want to achieve a serve with great
distance, is to increase the speed of their arm swing (Miller). It also helps to remember that
when you are in the stance to serve, shift from your back foot to your front foot to reach the
needed amount of power to get a great distance (Voices). A final tip is to remember that when
serving a volleyball you should aim for “heaven and not hell.” This means that you should serve
upward instead of towards the ground to get a good distance (Kessel). Science can also be
applied when serving a volleyball. For instance, We can use Newton’s second law to make the
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serve go farther. It says that if a force acts on an object, the object’s motion will change.
Therefore, if you imply more force on an object (the volleyball,) its motion will change and it
volleyball size five should have the air pressure of 4.3-4.6 psi. An outdoor volleyball should have
the air pressure of 2.5-3.2 psi. Finally, a youth volleyball should have the air pressure of 4.3 psi.
A youth volleyball has a lesser amount of air pressure in order to help children get the ball over
the net (Popelka). If the ball has too much air pressure, then it will be hard to pass. If a ball has
too little air pressure, then it won’t travel the way it’s supposed to. This is why it is important to
use the recommended amount of air pressure.These air pressures are recommended to make sure
the ball has an easy and fluid movement. It is recommended to use a psi gauge to get the most
Just like a soccer ball, volleyballs will go farther with more air pressure in them. Distance
will always be increased when air pressure is increased. The reason for this is because of what
the air pressure does to the ball’s shape. Proper inflation fills the shape and puts it in the best
condition possible. The force you make on the ball will impact it more if it is firm rather than
under-inflated (Parrish). The air pressure in the ball also affects how the ball hits your arm and
how it travels when you pass it. This also applies to other sports such as basketball and to bicycle
tires (Parrish).
The more air there is in a volleyball, the higher it will bounce. If the volleyball doesn’t
have enough air, then it won’t bounce much at all. If a volleyball has too much air, its bladder
can burst and it will become inoperable. A basketball also has a bladder. Air affects a basketball
in the same way as a volleyball. It is important to keep the air pressure accurate to achieve the
What Are Volleyballs Made of, and How Does That Relate To How They Hold Air?
The famous volleyball consists of three different parts: the outer shell, the core, and the
panels. The outer shell can be made of either real leather or fake leather. The core, also called the
bladder, is made of rubber. The outer shell is glued to the inner lining. The eight panels help to
keep the ball intact. This relates to how they hold air because each part is made so that it can be
lightweight, but not fly away with the weight of the air (Popelka).
To calculate the distance a projectile travels before it is shot, you use the linear motion
equation which is d = vt. D is the distance, v is the speed, and t is the time. In this experiment the
serve distance will be measured after it has landed. At the landing point, the distance from the
end line to the landing point will be measured (Projectile). In this experiment, the volleyball
court is 60 feet long. This means that the serve can land anywhere from 30 feet to 60 feet across
I hypothesized that, If I have ten people serve volleyballs with low, medium, and high air
pressure and measure the distance that the balls go, then the ball with the greatest air pressure
will go the farthest. My results concluded that the more air pressure you put in a volleyball, the
farther it goes. For the low ball, the average distance was 30 ft 9 ⅛ in. The average distance for
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the medium ball was 33 ft 1 ½ in. Finally, the average for the high ball was 34 ft. and 9 inches.
In conclusion, with a high pressure ball you get about 2 more feet of distance compared to a
medium pressure ball. You also get about 5 feet more of distance with a high pressure ball
compared to a low pressure ball. The ball with the greatest air pressure went the farthest out of
the low, medium, and high air pressures that were served by 10 different people.
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Works Cited
www.livestrong.com/article/411163-does-air-pressure-affect-the-bounce-of-a-basketball/.
Kessel , John. “Top Ten Serving Secrets .” Team USA, USA Volleyball , Feb. 2013,
www.teamusa.org/-/media/USA_Volleyball/.../ServingSecrets11611.pdf?la...+Cached+T
op+T.
Miller, Bob. “Serving .” The Volleyball Handbook, Human Kinetics, 2005, pp. 44–50.
Parrish , Rogue. “How Does the Air Pressure of a Soccer Ball Affect the Distance It Goes When
www.livestrong.com/article/412822-how-does-the-air-pressure-of-a-soccer-ball-affect-th
e-distance-it-goes-when-kicked/.
Popelka , Jiri. “Volleyball Ball | Everything You Need To Know About Volleyball
volleycountry.com/training/volleyball-ball-everything-need-know-volleyball-balls.
www.sausd.us/cms/lib5/ca01000471/centricity/moduleinstance/8024/physics_ii.pdf.
Smith, Alastair. “Energy, Forces & Motion.” Energy, Forces & Motion, EDC Pub., 2002, pp.
24–25.
iml.jou.ufl.edu/projects/Fall08/Devine/rules.html.
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Voices, April Chapple Volleyball. “10 Steps to the Perfect Serve.” ACTIVE.com, Active
www.active.com/volleyball/articles/10-steps-to-the-perfect-serve.